ANALYSIS OF POWER LINE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL MODEL USING

COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES

A Paper
Submitted to the Graduate Faculty
of the
North Dakota State University
of Agriculture and Applied sciences

By
Varinder Pal Singh

In Partial Fulfillment
for the Degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE

Major Program:
Electrical & Computer Engineering

May 2012

Fargo, North Dakota

North Dakota State University

Graduate School
Title

ANALYSIS OF POWER LINE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL MODEL

USING COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUES

By
Varinder Pal Singh

The Supervisory Committee certifies that this disquisition complies with North Dakota State
Universitys regulations and meets the accepted standards for the degree of

MASTER OF SCIENCE

SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE:
Dr. Hongxiang Li
Co-chair
Dr. Bei Gou
Co-chair

Dr. Chao You

Dr. O. P. Yadav

Approved:
03/19/2013
Date

Dr. Rajendra S. Katti

Department Chair

ABSTRACT
With the advent of technology, human dependency on power (electricity) and
communication has grown beyond leaps and bounds. Many efforts have been made to
continuously improve and increase the efficiency in both areas. Power Line Communication
(PLC) is a technology where power lines or transmission lines are being used for communication
purposes along with transmitting electrical energy. Because the power grid is already in place,
the PLC has the obvious advantage of reducing communication infrastructure cost. However, the
power grid is designed optimally for power delivery (not the data). The power transmission line
generally appears as a harsh environment for the low-power high-frequency communication
signals. In order to evaluate the performance of PLC, this paper simulates a practical multipath
power line communication channel model and provides the Bit Error Rate (BER) vs signal-tonoise ratio (SNR) curves for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I take this opportunity to express my utmost gratitude to Dr. Hongxiang Li, for allowing
me to work under his expert supervision, for his guidance and help throughout my course of
graduate studies. I highly appreciate his continuous motivation and direction which kept me
focused towards my goal. I extend my sincere thanks to Dr. Bei Gou (Co-advisor), Dr. Chao
You, Dr. O.P. Yadav, for serving on the committee.
In addition to the supervisory committee I would like to acknowledge sincere efforts of
faculty and staff of the Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) Department for sharing
knowledge and making things smooth. I am thankful to the graduate school and Cathy Marks in
particular for providing quick response to my queries and keeping me updated with dates and
deadlines.
I am particularly thankful to my family for their emotional, moral and financial support. I
would like to thanks my friends for making me feel better even when I was doing real bad,
cooking food for me during my exams and making me laugh when I was stressed.
Finally I would like to thanks to Google, Wikipedia and MS word for being very
resourceful to me, without these tools I would not have been able to succeed in academics.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .........................................................................................................iv
LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................vii
LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................................viii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................x
1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................1
2. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................3
2.1. Smart Grid.................................................................................................................3
2.2. Traditional Grid to Smart Grid .................................................................................4
3. PLC (POWER LINE COMMUNICATION)...........................................................................8
3.1. Noise in PLC .............................................................................................................9
3.2. Multipath Channel Model .........................................................................................11
3.3. Existing PLC Implementations .................................................................................14
3.4. PLC Channel Model Simulations, N = 4 .................................................................15
3.5. PLC Channel Model Simulations, N = 15 ...............................................................18
4. BINARY PHASE SHIFT KEYING ........................................................................................20
v

4.1. BPSK Signal Generation...........................................................................................22

4.2. Geometrical Representation of BPSK Signal ...........................................................23
4.3. BPSK signal through PLC channel ...........................................................................24
5. INTRODUCTION TO OFDM ................................................................................................25
5.1. OFDM Block Diagram .............................................................................................27
5.2. CP (Cyclic Prefix) .....................................................................................................28
6. SIMULATION RESULTS ......................................................................................................30
6.1. BER Vs SNR Curve Generated ................................................................................32
7. CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................33
8. REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................35

vi

LIST OF TABLES
Table

Page

1. Attenuation and path parameters for PLC channel model, N=4 ...................................17
2. Attenuation and path parameters for PLC channel model, N=15 ..................................19
3. Parameters used in simulation model for generating BER curves .................................35

vii

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure

Page

1. Diagram showing distribution of power from TS to end user .........................................6

2. Communication alternatives in Smart Grid .....................................................................6
3. Typical topology of end mile transmission line in power grid ......................................12
4. Multipath propagation of signal from D to C ................................................................12
5. PLC channel model gain and phase plot, N=4 ...............................................................17
6. PLC channel model gain and phase plot, N=15 .............................................................19
7. Sinusoidal representation of BPSK symbol 0 and 1 .................................................21
8. Block diagram for BPSK signal generation ...................................................................22
9. Waveforms representing BPSK symbols .......................................................................22
10. Geometric representation of BPSK ..............................................................................23
11. Block diagram of BPSK signal through PLC channel .................................................24
12. FDM concept of frequency division ............................................................................25
13. FDM with guard bands ................................................................................................26
14. OFDM Transmission block..........................................................................................27
15. Concept of CP in OFDM symbol ................................................................................29
viii

16. OFDM Receiver block .................................................................................................29

17. BER curve for PLC channel, N=4 and N=15 ..............................................................32

ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
AMI ...................................................... Advanced Metering Infrastructure
AWGN ................................................. Additive Gaussian Noise
BER ...................................................... Bit Error Rate
BPSK.................................................... Binary Phase Shift Keying
BPL ...................................................... Broadband over Power Line
BW ....................................................... Band Width
CP......................................................... Cyclic Prefix
CENELEC............................................ European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
DG ........................................................ Distributive Generation
Rx ......................................................... Receiver
DTL ...................................................... Digital Transmission Line
DS ........................................................ Distribution Substation
FFT ....................................................... Fast Fourier Transform
FDM ..................................................... Frequency Division Multiplexing
HV ........................................................ High Voltage

IFFT ..................................................... Inverse Fast Fourier Transform

IEEE ..................................................... Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
ISI......................................................... Inter Symbol Interference
LV ........................................................ Low Voltage
MV ....................................................... Medium Voltage
OFDM .................................................. Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
PSD ...................................................... Power Spectral Density
PSK ...................................................... Phase Shift Keying
QPSK ................................................... Quadrature Phase Shift Keying
SG ........................................................ Smart Grid
TS ......................................................... Transmission Substation
Tx ......................................................... Transmission

xi

1. INTRODUCTION
Power grid [6] or Electrical grid is an interconnected network of wires and other
components, delivering power from the point of generation to the end user. Major operations
concerned with the aforementioned are:
-

Power generation

Power transmission

Power distribution

Power control

It is evident from the 2003 blackout [1] that existing power grids have severe drawbacks,
which cannot be ignored. These drawback arent the only concerns in themselves, they present a
national security threat as well. The central power generation and distribution system, first
designed by Nicole Tesla, is based on a cascading design and has not been updated ever since its
inception. Failure in one part of the grid leads to failure of other parts due to its cascade design.
Other major reasons which demand the upgrading of the grid is the transmission and distribution
loss of power while transferring it to the end user. As of today, one cannot afford such losses,
seeing as the demand of power supply is consistently increasing.
Another way to cope with the high power consumption rate is to implement the Variable
demand and supply [2] method. An end user - domestic, commercial or industrial - can request
an increase or decrease in the power supply depending upon their current or future load
requirements. Variable demand and supply allows the power distribution system to efficiently
1

channel the power to areas with lower requirements as well as those with higher requirements.
Inclusion of alternative sources of energy contributes to clean energy and plays a vital role in
energy management. As more and more renewable sources are included, power grids not only
have to deal with bidirectional flow of current, but also variable power supply in the region.
Complexity of the existing grid is increased by manifolds when alternative sources of energy like
solar and wind energy are added to the power grid. Effective implementation of the power grid
with additional functionalities, improved reliability and enhanced security requires a systematic
and well established communication system.
The said communication network can be set in two ways. The first approach is to install a
communication network parallel to the grid using a wired/wireless medium. The second
approach uses existing power cables for data transmission, which serves a dual purpose of
controlling the network as well as internet access through power lines. The biggest advantage in
pursuing power line communication is to utilize the existing power grid network, which can
significantly reduce the cost of adding a new infrastructure to the system. Additionally, PLC can
provide internet access for rural areas. However, as power grid cables were designed for
electrical current, the power transmission line acts as a harsh environment for data signals, which
may yield lower throughput or higher error rate at the receivers end.

2. BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW

The Smart Grid (SG) supported by communication network and renewable sources of
energy tries to address concerns raised by the traditional power grid.

2.1. Smart Grid

The Smart Grid is the modernization or up-gradation of the current power grid. SG
provides power along with two way digital communication to control home appliances to save
energy, reduce the cost, and increase the reliability and transparency. In this comprehensive
paper, introduction to and communication over power line channels is discussed. Smart Grid
implements changes to the traditional grid including some major changes such as Distributive
power generation [6], Role of Communication and the concept of Advanced Metering
Infrastructure (AMI) [4] [5]. These new meters account for various advantages over traditional
meters, becoming an effective communication interface between the grid and the consumer. The
purpose of AMI is to utilize domestic, renewable and non renewable power sources, and share
them with consumers via an internet-style smart transmission grid. With new policies, innovative
technologies and infrastructure upgrades, the Smart Grid is poised to change the way we go
about our lives.
Smart Grid aims to achieve a wide range of prospects, ranging from automated control of
appliances at home to an overall reliable, secure and flexible grid. It will benefit both the power
supply companies and the end user. There will be a reduction in the peak load thanks to a
demand-based supply, the inclusion of renewable sources, intelligent devices and an adaptive
grid.
3

2.2. Traditional Grid to Smart Grid

The existing power grid has grown old and needs an extensive upgrade and
modernization. Grid failure is not only a mere inconvenience but poses national security threat
and serious economic losses.
Smart Grid provides elegant, eco-friendly and efficient solutions to most of the problems
posed by current power grid. A strong communication network acting as a backbone of the
power grid makes it a more robust system. Inclusion of distributive generation reduces the peak
load on central power generation and allows the grid to separate itself from affected section of
the grid. Following the trend of digitization, electrical network is digitized from analog version
under Smart Grid. Power and information flow in current power grid follows a broadcasting
pattern with generators as starting point and domestic user as end point. Smart Grid provides
power along with two way digital communication to control home appliances to save energy,
reduce cost, increased reliability and transparency. The following introduction discusses some
fundamental features of Smart Grid. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), accounts various
advantages over traditional meters by becoming an effective communication interface between
grid and consumer. Following are some features of AMI:
- Remote meter reading
- Control of appliances through remote sites
- Live tracking of electricity charges and current load
- Programmable duration and timing of device operability
4

Smart Grid contributes to clean energy by including alternative sources of energy.

Inclusion of alternate sources like wind mills and solar panel would reduce pressure off the
thermal power units. Distributive power generation is a system in which power consumed by
users is generated at various locations rather than traditional central units. The concept of Net
metering [7] allows the customers to sell extra power generated from privately owned solar
panel/wind mill/vehicle battery to the grid. The opposite flow of electricity from consumer to
grid rolls the meter in reverse direction reducing the number of already consumed electrical
units. A customer is only charged for net units used, obtained by subtracting units given to grid
from units consumed by using electricity from grid.
A strong communication system provides reliable and efficient platform upon which
Smart Grid is based. As in previous sections we discussed the AMI and communication between
user and grid proving how vital communication is for existence of Smart Grid. Communication
in Smart Grid is not only responsible for notifications or reminders but also includes software
based transmission, control, re-routing algorithms, fault recognition and self healing.
It is required to understand existing power grid architecture to make some significant
moves in Smart Grid. Figure 1 explains basic distribution characteristic of existing power grid.
Power is generated and transmitted at very high voltage from power plant to transmission
substation (TS) then it is down converted and brought at medium level voltage to distribution
substation (DS) and control center [8]. Here again power is down converted to low level voltage
to make it suitable for user utilities. The flow of current in different levels poses some challenges
while designing effective communication.

Figure 1. Diagram showing distribution of power from TS to end user [8]

Figure 2. Communication alternatives in Smart Grid

The Figure 2 emphasizes the mode of communication within smart grid. Communication
media act as interface between energy source, distribution system and consumer entities. Smart
6

Grid comes up with option of joining all transmission interfaces directly to the sources or can be
controlled by central grid. The key concept is that all interactions between transmission
interfaces and consumers are multi-directional i.e. uncommon to traditional grid now that users
can also participate in reverse direction. Communication infrastructure is laid over physical
infrastructure of existing grid; doing so achieves automation, robustness and efficient power grid.
By designing communication architecture to support Smart Grid, one can choose from
currently available communication technologies; among wireless, wired/cable, cellular, or power
line itself. Each has different advantages and disadvantages even hybrid combination of them
could be used.

3. PLC (POWER LINE COMMUNICATION)

PLC also known as BPL (Broadband over Power Line) uses power lines as a medium for
achieving effective bidirectional communication along with electric current flow. The concept of
communicating through PLC is quite old but not brought into use on massive scale for
commercial purpose. Power companies have been using this service and keeping it restricted to
them only.
There are several reasons that hinder PLC from being a unanimous choice as
communication medium. The first and foremost reason is that power reaches to the user from the
point of generation via three stages. Sustaining the data signal through three different voltage
levels ( HV, MV, LV ) is complicated and costly affair. At the same voltage level PLC allows
communication while maintaining the quality well above the minimum threshold. Another
disadvantage of PLC is that a data signal injected to power line could not pass through
transformer. The use of bypass devices across transformers increases the complexity and adds to
overall cost. Data signal is separated before the transformer instead of going through it and again
injected to back to the power line. Significant transmission and distribution loss of power lines is
another characteristic which makes PLC a secluded option. A clique is produced when a device
is switched ON or OFF in a network. The Impulsive noise depletes the signal quality by
introducing noise in the system. As power lines are not insulated, at high frequencies they act as
an antenna hence interfering with signal being generated from high tension wire in close vicinity.
Some factors discussed above prohibit PLC from becoming a complete mature communication
network for Smart Grid [9] [10]. Some architecture also has been proposed for Smart Grid using
PLC based upon packet oriented approaches [11].
8

3.1. Noise in PLC

A PLC could be categorized as follows:
-

Narrow band PLC (<450KHz)

Wideband/broadband PLC (~MHz)

The last mile power line, also known as low-voltage (LV) power lines, is a power

transmission cable connecting substations to domestic houses. The source of noise at LV can be
internal (inside the power network) or external (outside the power network). A detailed
classification of the power line noise is listed as follows [12]:
-

Colored Background Noise: Appliances and components operating at low power,

collectively generates noise with relatively low power spectral density (PSD).

Narrow band noise, mostly amplitude modulated sinusoidal signals caused by ingress of
radio broadcasting stations.

Periodic impulsive noise asynchronous to the main frequency, which is mostly caused
by switched-mode power supplies.

Periodic impulsive noise synchronous to the mains frequency, components like rectifier
diodes, transistors whose cut off voltage and threshold voltage leads to switching actions
in synchronous to frequency of mains power.

Asynchronous impulsive noise, which is caused by switching transients in the power

network.
9

Collective noise [13] is the sum of all the noise types mentioned above. Colored
Background Noise and Narrow Band Noise are considered as background noise which
uniformly spread throughout the spectrum, as their rate of change of magnitude is very slow. On
the contrary, the last three are termed as impulsive noise since their amplitude changes rapidly.
Background noise is considered to be Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) for
PLC analysis [14]. The impulsive noise is given by:
=

(1)

where, is the Poisson process which is the arrival of the impulsive noise, is the white
Gaussian process with mean zero and variance 22 . That is Gaussian noise of magnitude
varying up to 35 dB and is distributed among data bits complying Poisson distribution. is the
probability of getting hit by noise and is the random variable denoting the varying amplitude
of noise. The total noise is given by:
= +

(2)

= +

(3)

Arrival of the impulsive noise follows the Poisson process with a rate of R units per
second, so that the event of k arrivals in t seconds has the probability distribution as:
= /!
Let be the received signal, and then the transmitted signal is given by:

10

(4)

 = +

(5)

In case if the modulation technique used is OFDM with BPSK as bit modulation,
received signal could be characterized with the expression;

+ +

= 0,1,2,3 . , 1

(6)

=0

where, is number of subchannels/subcarriers and is (+1,-1) BPSK symbol.

This section discussed mathematical model of noise characteristics involved in PLC.
Note should be taken that only noise is considered here. There are several other characteristics
which could deteriorate the bit sequence such as type and material of wires used for transmission
lines, age of power lines and interference from other products operating in same frequency
range.

3.2. Multipath Channel Model

In Power line transmission the propagation of data signals do not follow single path or
uni-path, but they follow a multipath [15] following a pattern very similar to wireless signals
involved in cellular transmission. Power grid (LV) is a single central transmission line with
shooting stems terminating at the end users place, as shown in Figure 3. is the point of
transmission (substation/service provider) and is point of receiver (automated meter,
customer or other appliances).

11

Figure 3. Typical topology of end mile transmission line in power grid

A small section of Figure 4 could be singled out to review multipath propagation of signal.

Figure 4. Multipath propagation of signal from D to C

Let D be the point of transmission and C be the point of receiving. Signal generated at point D
could take following possible routs:
1. D 3 2 C
2. D 3 3 D
3. D 3 1 3 D
4. D 3 1 1 2 C
Expressions mentioned here list the different propagation routs. Signal power and BER of
received signal depends upon the path followed and the length of the path. Multipath propagation
is also responsible for delay ( ) in PLC, which is given by:
12

=
0

(7)

is the length of path, 0 is speed of light and is dielectric constant of insulating material.

. , . 2

(8)

=1

is frequency response of channel between two points. When the grid network grows
big and complex it could be separated into sub-channels for individual study. A(f,di) are cable
losses which could be in the form of heat or signal leakage etc. f is the frequency of operation,
is weight factor which is directly proportional to number of reflections and path followed:
1

(9)

The values of and A(f,di) are determined experimentally. Based upon above given
factors a mathematical model of multipath PLC is proposed in [14]:

. , . 2

(10)

=1

Based upon extensive investigation [14] on experimental data A(f,di) can be

approximated by the mathematical formula for attenuation factor ()
= 0 + 1 .
0 and 1 are attenuation parameters leading to:

13

(11)

 , =

0 + 1. .

(12)

Using A(f,di) in gives the channel model for PLC transmission line:

0 + 1 . .

. 2 (

(13)

=1

0 + 1 . .

2 (

weighing factor

Attenuation portion

Delay portion

3.3. Existing PLC Implementations

This section gives a brief review of existing Power-Line Communication being
implemented at various places and enumeration of standards involved. In Europe PLC is termed
as narrow band PLC because allocated frequency band for PLC is from 3 KHz to 148 KHz,
which is further divided in to four sub-bands for different applications:
-

CENELEC A (35.9 Khz to 90.6 KHZ)

CENELEC B (98.4 Khz to 121.8 KHZ)

CENELEC C (128.1 Khz to 137.5 KHZ)

CENELEC D (142.1 Khz to 146.8 KHZ)

14

Details of operation in different bands such as type of modulation, data rate, symbol size
and encoding-decoding technique are enlisted in [16]. CENELEC the controlling body of PLC
mechanism in Europe, follows the Stds EN 50065 (CENELEC), IEC 61000.In China PLC
operates at a single Frequency band of 3 to 500 Khz. The frequency band in USA for PLC
purpose is FCC band 10 kHz 490 kHz. There is only single band with no subdivisions.
Standard IEEE P1901 [17] regulating the operations of PLC, outlined two different techniques to
be followed for PLC based upon modulation method to be implemented PHY layer:
-

FFT OFDM: It uses Forward error correction (FEC) scheme with Convolutional Turbo
Code (CTC) as underlying coding technique.

Wavelet OFDM: It involves FEC, using concatenated Reed-Solomon (RS) and

Convolutional Code, and also provides an option to add Low-density Parity Check
(LDPC) to reduce errors.

3.4. PLC Channel Model Simulations, N = 4

clear all; clc;
%%%%%%%%%%%%% PLC multipath channel model %%%%%%%%%%%%%%
N=4; k=1; a0=0; a1=7.8e-10;
%Path parameters
g(1:N)=[0.64,0.38,-0.15,0.05];
d(1:N)=[200,222.4,244.8,267.5];
%Spread velocity
15

vp=1.5e8;
ff=1:0.01:20;
f=100:2000;
for m=1:N
%f=1:20000;
%f=transpose(f);
% f0=10*f
H(f,m)=g(m).*exp(-(a0+a1.*((ff.*1e6).^k)).*d(m)).*exp(-2i.*pi.*(ff.*1e6).*(d(m)./vp));
end
H0(f)=H(f,1)+H(f,2)+H(f,3)+H(f,4);
magH(f)=10*log10(abs(H0(f)));
angH(f)=angle(H(f,1)+H(f,2)+H(f,3)+H(f,4));
subplot(2,2,1),plot(ff,magH(f))
title('N=4');xlabel('frequency in MHz'); ylabel('H(f)in dB')
grid on
subplot(2,2,2), plot(ff,angH(f))
xlabel('frequency in MHz'); ylabel('Phase')
grid on

16

Figure 5. PLC channel model gain and phase plot, N=4

Table 1. Attenuation and path parameters for PLC channel model, N=4 [15]
Attenuation Parameters
=1

1 = 7.8 1010 /

0 = 0

Path Parameters

0.64

200

-0.15

244.8

0.38

222.4

0.05

267.5

17

3.5. PLC Channel Model Simulations, N = 15

N1= 15
g2(1:N1)=[0.029,0.043,0.103,-0.058,-0.045,-0.040,0.038,-0.038,0.071,-0.035,0.065,0.055,0.042,-0.059,0.049];
d2(1:N1)=[90,102.4,113,143,148,200,260,322,411,490,567,740,960,110,1250];
ff=1:0.01:20;
f=100:2000;
for m=1:N1
H2(f,m)=g2(m).*exp(-(a0+a1.*((ff.*1e6).^k)).*d2(m)).*exp(-2i.*pi.*(ff.*1e6).*(d2(m)./vp));
end
H02(f) = sum((H2(f,1:15))');
magH2(f)=10*log10(abs(H02(f)));
angH(f) = angle(H02(f));
subplot(2,1,1),plot(ff,magH2(f))
Title('N=15'); xlabel('frequency in MHz');ylabel('H(f)in dB')
subplot(2,1,2),plot(ff,angH(f))
xlabel('frequency in MHz');ylabel('Phase')
grid on

18

Figure 6. PLC channel model gain and phase plot, N=15

Table 2. Attenuation and path parameters for PLC channel model, N=15 [15]

Attenuation Parameters
=1

1 = 7.8 1010 /

0 = 0

Path Parameters

0.029

90

-0.071

411

0.0430

102

10

-0.035

490

0.0103

113

11

0.065

567

-0.058

143

12

-0.055

740

-0.045

148

13

0.042

960

-0.040

200

14

-0.059

1130

0.038

260

15

0.049

1250

-0.038

322

19

4. BINARY PHASE SHIFT KEYING

BPSK is a subset of PSK digital modulation scheme, which uses distinct signals to
represent digital symbols. In binary phase shift keying (BPSK) [18] [19], the binary symbols 1
and 0 are used to modulate the phase of the carrier.
A carrier wave can be represented as:
= . cos
(2fc t)

(14)

where, represent the peak value or amplitude of sinusoidal.

For a standard 1 resistor, the power dissipated is given by
/2

()2 .

(15)

/2

= 2 /2

(16)

= 2

(17)

Now, when the symbol is changed, the phase of carrier changes by 1800.
Symbol for 1is given by;

1 =

2cos
(2fc t)

and symbol for 0 is given by;

20

(18)

2 =

2cos
(2fc t + )

2 = 2cos
(2fc t)

(19)

(20)

Based on (18) and (20), BPSK signal can be represented as

= () 2cos(2fc t)
Where, = + 1, for binary 1 and 1, for binary 0

Figure 7. Sinusoidal representation of BPSK symbol 0 and 1

21

(21)

4.1. BPSK Signal Generation

Figure 8. Block diagram for BPSK signal generation [20]

Figure 8 shows how a BPSK signal can be generated: Binary data is passed through a
NRZ (Non Return to Zero) encoder; Encoded data is then modulated by mixing it with a high
frequency carrier signal by a balanced modulator.

Figure 9. Waveforms representing BPSK symbols

22

4.2. Geometrical Representation of BPSK Signal

A BPSK signal carries information about two symbols and can be geometrically
represented as follows:

2cos(2fc t)

(22)

Rearranging (22):

2
cos
(2fc t)
Tb

= ( Tb )(

= ( Tb ) 1

Where, 1 =

2
Tb

(23)

(24)

cos 2fc t represent an orthogonal carrier signal.

The energy it is defined in terms of power and bit duration Tb:

= Tb
= 1, b(t) is 1.
Geometrically, it can be represented as follows:

Figure 10. Geometric representation of BPSK

23

(25)

(26)

4.3. BPSK signal through PLC channel

Figure 11. Block diagram of BPSK signal through PLC channel

Figure 11 explains the process of passing BPSK signal through PLC channel. This would
help to evaluate the throughput and BER curves. First, input data stream BPSK modulated and
converted into a stream of +1 and 0s. This modulated data stream is further passed through PLC
channel, which degraded the signal. AWGN is then added to data stream coming from PLC
channel. At the receiver end BPSK signal is demodulated and then detected for +1 and 0s. This
detected stream of +1 and 0s is then compared with input data stream and number of errors are
detected to form BER curves.

24

5. INTRODUCTION TO OFDM
Orthogonal Frequency division multiplexing, OFDM [20] due to its flexibility and
computational efficiency, is one of the most promising techniques available. It involves a
combination of both modulation and multiplexing. As discussed in the previous section:
-

Modulation is a change in the parameters (frequency, phase and amplitude) of the carrier
signal according to the message signal.

Multiplexing is the method of sending multiple signals on the same channel; also
maintaining their integrity at the receiver end.
OFDM converts a given high-bit-rate data stream into several parallel lower-bit-rate

streams and modulates each stream on separate carriers, often called subcarriers, or tones. It is an
extension or a special case of FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing), in which a given
bandwidth is divided into narrow channels to send multiple data streams at the same time. Here
total bandwidth (BW) is divided in to n (n=5) channels.

Figure 12. FDM concept of frequency division

25

Bandwidth of each channel is total BW divided by number of channels.

2 1 = /n

(27)

In FDM neighboring channels interfere with each other hence require guard bands to
separate them. Introduction of guard bands reduces the individual sub-channel bandwidth.

Figure 13. FDM with guard bands

Bandwidth of nth channel = 2 1 Gaurd Bandwidth
OFDM introduces the concept of orthogonality of sub carriers. Orthogonal subcarriers
rule out the possibility of inter-channel interference. In order to be orthogonal, two signals must
be uncorrelated over symbol duration time.

1 . 2 . = 0
0

26

(28)

5.1. OFDM Block Diagram

Figure 14. OFDM Transmission block

A serial bit stream when equally distributed among parallel subcarriers decreases the bit
rate per channel, which allows symbol time to be large enough for multicarrier modulation
schemes to eliminate or at least minimize inter-symbol interference (ISI). Increasing the symbol
duration induces channel delays, which are very insignificant compared to the symbol duration
as a whole. Therefore, in high-data-rate systems in which the symbol duration is small, being
inversely proportional to the data rate, splitting the data stream into many parallel streams
increases the symbol duration of each stream such that the delay spread is only a small fraction
of the symbol duration. Example:
X[N] = randsrc(1,20,[1,-1])
X[N] = [1

-1

-1

-1

N=length(X);

27

-1

1 -1

1 -1 -1

1 -1]

Sub_carrier=reshape (x,4,5)

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

-1

Sub_Carrier(1:4) =

Modulation followed by serial to parallel conversion generates frequency components,

which are converted to time samples using Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT). The OFDM
symbol is generated after IFFT, which is given by:

2 / ,

0 1

(29)

=0

Each x[n] represents a sum of modulated symbols with frequency modulated by 2 / factor.

5.2. CP (Cyclic Prefix)

The multipath environment degrades the baseband signal, due to constructive and
destructive addition of delayed signals. The process of delayed symbols distorting each other is
known as ISI (Inter Symbol Interference). In OFDM this problem is tackled by the addition of
CP to the symbol. After modulation, CP (Cyclic prefix) is added at the end of every symbol. CP
serves the same purpose as guard bands in frequency division multiplexing. Addition of CP
increases the symbol duration and eventually reduces the symbol rate across the channel. ISI
(Inter Symbol Interference) is reduced on introduction of CP.
28

Figure 15. Concept of CP in OFDM symbol

Let, X[0] be the OFDM symbol of length N
X[0] = x[0], x[1], x[2], x[3].. x[N-1]
OFDM symbol with addition of CP
X = x[N-L+1], x[N-L+2] x[N-2], x[N-1],x[0], x[1], x[2], x[3].. x[N-1]
Symbol length = N+L+1, length of Cyclic prefix is decided based upon the channel
delay. After the addition of CP to the symbols, they are passed through the parallel to serial
converter. OFDM symbol preceding CP make convolution between channel and OFDM symbol,
circular in nature.

Figure 16. OFDM Receiver block

29

6. SIMULATION RESULTS
Following steps have been used:
1. Random bits generated are modulated to BPSK signal
2. Out of the 64 total number of subcarriers only 52 are occupied, over which data is
transmitted. The rest of the 14 subcarriers remain empty. Modulated BPSK symbols are
assigned to 52 subcarriers from -26 to -1 and +1 to +26. Unoccupied subcarriers are
padded with zeros. It is at this step where serial to parallel conversion takes place.
3. IFFT is performed to generate OFDM signal, and CP (Cyclic Prefix) is added to reduce
Inter Symbol Interference.
Length of CP should be no less than the delay spread of PLC channel.
%%%%%%%% Length of CP %%%%%%%%%%%%
vp = 1.5e8;
di = [200,222.4,244.8,267.5];
davg = mean(di);
tau =davg/vp;
L_CP = ceil(tau*20e6);
L_CP = 32;
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

30

Length of CP =32
Total length of OFDM symbol = 64+32= 96
4. PLC channel model is generated

0 + 1 . .

. 2 (

(30)

=1

5. Every OFDM symbol is convolved with the PLC channel generated.

6. AWGN, Gaussian noise of unit variance and zero mean is generated and added to OFDM
symbols passed through the PLC channel.
7. Parallel data stream is reshaped into serial vector and CP is removed.
8. Serial data received is converted to frequency domain and divided by the frequency
domain of the PLC channel in order to equalize the data. Data is extracted from occupied
subcarriers.
9. Received bit stream is detected for BPSK signals. Hard decision making is preformed.
10. Transmitted and received data streams of BPSK symbols are compared to each other and
the numbers of errors are calculated.
11. Montecarlo simulation model is followed and the whole process is repeated multiple time
to generate BER curves. Table 3 lists the parameter specifications used in simulation
model.

31

Table 3. Parameters used in simulation model for generating BER curves.

Simulation Model

Monte Carlo

Number of subcarriers

64

FFT block size

128

Number of occupied sub carriers

52

Length of CP

32

Number of bits

52x10^6

Number of runs

40

6.1. BER Vs SNR Curve Generated

Figure 17. BER curve for PLC channel, N=4 and N=14

32

7. CONCLUSION
This paper provides the review of Smart Grid and its emergence from existing power grid
while enlisting some of its advantages and forth coming challenges. Certain industry standards
claim promising data throughputs over last mile of power line communication. Homeplug
Powerline Alliance Standards is one of leading group which specializes in home PLC products
and services [25]. Home plug releases series of standards named Homeplug 1.0, turbo, AV,
offering physical layer data throughput of 14, 85 and 200 Mbps respectively within a home
network. . Comparing to MoCA technology over coaxial cables with data throughput upto 270
Mbps and Ethernet (Cat 5 UTP) maxing up to 1 Gbps, PLC does not fare well [26]. Following
are some major problems which need to be addressed:
-

Analytical Modeling

Reliability (failure reduction)

Multipath Propagation (delay)

Problem identification (fault detection)

Security (unauthorized access to propagation and devices on network)

Interference (with other operations working at same the frequency range)

Bandwidth (to accommodate high data rate demanding services like voice and video
communication)

33

Most of the existing work could be separated into two categories:

-

Experimental

Analytical
Experimental setup could be constrained to the level of lab for generating impulsive noise

[22][23][24] and study its characteristics with different modulation techniques in real time.
Another major outcome is the study of multipath propagation under different techniques and
environment. These setups have given mathematical models for noise involved and PLC
transmission channel. Based upon these models most of the analytic work is done by simulating
for various different approaches involved. Most of the analytic work is performance evaluation
of combination of different modulation techniques like BPSK,8PSK,QAM +FFT, cosine,
Wavelet transform +OFDM,COFDM +Error detection code (CRC, RS code, CTC, ARQ, parity
check) +different receiver structures. These combinations try to addresses one or more issues
enumerated under major problems. With most of the information discussed briefly in this review
paper MATLAB simulations could be done and different results can be compared.

34

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